/*
 * Copyright (c) 2003-2006 jMonkeyEngine
 * All rights reserved.
 *
 * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
 * modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are
 * met:
 *
 * * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
 *   notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
 *
 * * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
 *   notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
 *   documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
 *
 * * Neither the name of 'jMonkeyEngine' nor the names of its contributors 
 *   may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software 
 *   without specific prior written permission.
 *
 * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS
 * "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED
 * TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
 * PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR
 * CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL,
 * EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
 * PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR
 * PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF
 * LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING
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 * SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
 */
package com.jme.renderer.pass;

import com.jme.scene.batch.TriangleBatch;

public interface ShadowGate {

    /**
     * Give a hint to the shadow render pass as to whether a given triangle
     * batch is a candidate for shadow updates. This hint will be combined with
     * other hints such as locking.
     * 
     * @param batch
     *            the batch to check
     * @return true if we think this batch's shadows are ok to test for an
     *         update.
     */
    public boolean shouldUpdateShadows(TriangleBatch batch);

    /**
     * Give a hint to the shadow render pass as to whether a given triangle
     * batch is a candidate for shadow drawing. This hint will be combined with
     * other hints such as locking.
     * 
     * @param batch
     *            the batch to check
     * @return true if we think this batch's shadows are ok to draw
     */
    public boolean shouldDrawShadows(TriangleBatch batch);

}
